Official Shop
In early March, although the harsh winter in the Northern Territory was nearing its end, the cold wind still howled from the direction of Amber Bay like countless fine ice needles, sweeping across the barren fields and mercilessly lashing the ever-expanding settlement at the Carnford Mountain, a vast community composed of countless makeshift shacks, dugouts, and hastily constructed wooden houses.
The air was icy cold, the ground was frozen solid, and your breath turned to frost.
However, on this land shrouded in poverty, cold, and the hope of reconstruction, a crossroads located in the heart of the refugee district, where the flow of people is most concentrated, unexpectedly became bustling with activity because of one event, dispelling some of the chill and bringing back the long-lost liveliness and hustle and bustle of "normal life".
A brand-new, sizable shop officially opened for business amidst countless curious, expectant, and skeptical gazes.
The shop's facade was clearly well-maintained, forming a stark contrast to the surrounding low, crooked shacks cobbled together from broken planks and tarpaulins.
It was created by opening up, renovating, and reinforcing a relatively sturdy wooden and stone structure that was originally used as a warehouse. The walls were carefully plastered with mortar mixed with grass stems, making them appear smooth and solid.
Above the lintel hangs a striking sign made of fine oak, its surface smoothed and its edges adorned with simple carvings.
The words "Carnford First Shop" are boldly and powerfully engraved on it, the lettering traced with black tar, making them exceptionally clear.
Beside the sign, a flag representing the Lord's authority fluttered in the cold wind, silently proclaiming the shop's extraordinary nature—it had the most solid official background.
This government-run shop occupies a large area, and its interior space is used effectively.
Upon entering, there is a relatively spacious front hall made of rammed earth and covered with a layer of fine sand to buffer the flow of people.
The store is clearly divided into several main areas by simple wooden partitions and counters: the grain area, the cloth area, and the salt and iron area.
Each area features a long, sturdy counter made of thick wooden planks, with ample space above it to display a small number of samples.
The grain section's wooden shelves were piled high with different kinds of grains, mainly relatively inexpensive oats, barley, and a small amount of wheat, as well as some beans; the cloth section was neatly stacked with bolts of plain-colored but thick coarse wool and linen cloth, as well as a small amount of cotton cloth from southern caravans, which was slightly more expensive.
The salt and iron area is the most conspicuous, with several large wooden barrels, about half a person's height, filled with coarse-grained, slightly yellow sea salt. Next to them are some basic iron farm tools: hoes, sickles, axes, and several Iron Pot of different sizes. Although the craftsmanship of these iron tools is not sophisticated, they are made of solid materials and are necessities for land reclamation and settlement.
Behind each counter is a sales clerk dressed in a uniform dark cotton smock and a matching small cap, who is responsible for introducing the products to customers, picking up the goods, and weighing them.
In addition, there is a store manager who oversees everything and is responsible for coordinating and resolving disputes, as well as two cashiers who focus on collecting payments, keeping accounts, and keeping the cash box safe. They are arranged in a small space at the innermost part of the store, slightly separated by a wooden fence, with heavy ledgers and sturdy cash boxes in front of them.
The store has a simple staff with clearly defined roles, and it operates in a very organized manner.
The store manager's Herman, and he was in his forties. His temples were already graying, and the wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead bore witness to the hardships of life.
His face carried a calmness born of great sorrow and hardship, even a hint of barely perceptible grief, but when he focused on his work, his eyes revealed the shrewdness and calculation characteristic of a businessman.
He was a talent that Edgar personally discovered and promoted from among the vast sea of refugees, thanks to his keen observation skills.
It is understood that Herman was originally a well-known grain shop owner who had been running a business for more than 20 years in a rather prosperous small town in the central part of the kingdom.
He was honest and skilled in business, with extensive experience in grain grading, storage, distribution, and even simple speculation. His accounts were meticulously clear, and he had a good reputation in the local business community.
However, war, like the most violent torrent, ruthlessly shattered the peaceful lives of countless people.
Herman's small town was unfortunately overrun by a band of soldiers from the Goldflower Kingdom who had turned to banditry after their defeat. The bloodthirsty soldiers swarmed like locusts, and his grain shop was the first to be looted. His years of accumulated grain and silver were plundered, and his hard-earned business vanished in an instant.
Even more tragically, in the chaos of burning, killing, and looting, his wife and two underage children perished, while he alone escaped because he happened to be out collecting an old debt at the time.
Upon his return, faced with the ruins of his home and the cold corpses of his loved ones, his life seemed to have been instantly stripped of all color.
After that, he was like a walking corpse, following the tide of refugees northward, wandering and drifting, until he finally arrived at Carnford, the legendary "land of hope," but the wounds and despair in his heart never healed.
During one of Edgar's inspections of the resettlement of displaced people and his observation of talents from various professions, he noticed a middle-aged man who, though taciturn and with vacant eyes, could subconsciously separate different qualities of grain and quickly calculate the total amount in his mind when helping to distribute relief food.
After a deep and careful conversation, Edgar learned about his experiences and abilities.
Although Herman was devastated by the loss of his family, he did not lose his deep-rooted experience in shop management and accounting.
Edgar believed that giving him responsibility and trust might be the best way to help him out of the shadows and find a new foothold in life, while also solving a problem for the territory that urgently needed professional talent.
Edgar, defying all opposition, appointed him as the first manager of this landmark state-owned shop.
As it turned out, Edgar's judgment of character was correct.
In the short ten days or so of preparing for the opening, Herman seemed to be injected with new energy, or rather, it was the sense of responsibility that forced him to concentrate.
He demonstrated amazing organizational skills and efficiency, managing the complex processes of receiving, classifying, counting, warehousing, and shelving goods in an orderly manner; he personally handled the layout of the counters, the division of areas, and the writing of price tags, striving for clarity and practicality.
He even provided basic training to the recruited shop assistants, teaching them how to identify genuine coins, how to perform mental arithmetic quickly, and how to communicate effectively with customers.
The entire preparation process was efficient and smooth, far exceeding Edgar's expectations, which made him look at this middle-aged man who had endured so much hardship with even greater respect.